System and Method for Optical Coherence Tomography

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a system and to a corresponding method for optical coherence tomography having an interferometer ( 10 ) for emitting light with which a specimen ( 1 ) is irradiated, the interferometer ( 10 ) comprising a beam splitter ( 13 ) and at least one reflector ( 12 ) the optical distance (I) of which from the beam splitter ( 13 ) can be changed by an optical path (L), and a detector ( 30 ) with a first number of detector elements arranged in a first area for collecting light which is reflected by the specimen ( 1 ). 
     In order to be able to record images of a specimen, in particular in real time, more simply and quickly, the system is operated in a first mode in which light reflected by the specimen ( 1 ) is only collected by a second number of detector elements of the detector ( 30 ) and converted into corresponding detector signals, the second number of detector elements being smaller than the first number of detector elements.

The application relates to a system and to a corresponding method foroptical coherence tomography according to the preamble to Claims 1 and13.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a method of measuringlight-scattering specimens on their inside. Due to its light-scatteringproperties biological tissue is particularly suitable for diagnosticexamination by means of OCT. Since for OCT relatively low lightintensities are sufficient and the wavelengths of the light used mostlycome within the near infrared range (750 nm to 1350 nm), unlike ionisingX-ray diagnostics it does not contaminate biological tissue withradiation. It is therefore particularly significant for medicine and isroughly comparable to ultrasound diagnostics. With OCT, instead ofsound, broadband light which has a very short coherence length is used.The running times of the light reflected on different boundary layerswithin the specimen are recorded with the aid of an interferometer. WithOCT, typically resolutions higher by one to two orders of magnitude areto be achieved than with ultrasound, but the measuring depth achievableis considerably smaller. Due to optical scattering the cross-sectionimages obtained only reach into the tissue up to a depth of a fewmillimetres. The currently most important areas of application of OCTare in opthalmology, dermatology and the diagnosis of cancer. However,there are also some non-medical applications, such as e.g. in materialstesting.

A generic system is known from W. Y. Oh et al., OPTICS EXPRESS Vol. 14,No. 19 (2006) 8675-8684 wherein the specimen to be examined is disposedon a moveable stage controlled by a computer. In order to obtain athree-dimensional image of the specimen, two-dimensional images of thespecimen are recorded with different positions of the stage. Due to themechanical complexity associated with producing the moveable stage andthe large amount of space required, this system is suitable forendoscopic applications only to a limited extent. Moreover, therecording of two-dimensional images of the specimen with differentpositions of the specimen is relatively time-consuming, and withexaminations of living objects, which can generally hold a specificstationary position only for a short period of time, this can contributeto blurring of the image information.

It is the object of the invention to specify a system and acorresponding method for optical coherence tomography wherein images ofa specimen can be recorded more simply and quickly, in particular inreal time.

This object is achieved by the system according to claim 1 and thecorresponding method according to claim 13 in that the detector has afirst number of detector elements arranged in a first area forcollecting light, and the system can be or is operated in a first modein which light reflected by the specimen is only collected by a secondnumber of detector elements of the detector and converted intocorresponding detector signals, the second number of detector elementsbeing smaller than the first number of detector elements of thedetector.

The invention is based upon the idea of using a detector which can beoperated such that only a partial area (a so-called Window of Interest,WOI) of the detector is sensitive to light, only the light collected bydetector elements of this partial area being converted intocorresponding detector signals. By reducing the sensitive detector areaand the associated limitation of the image recording onto a selectedsection of the specimen, the time required for the collection of lightand the conversion of the latter into corresponding detector signals isconsiderably shortened, and so substantially more images can be producedper unit of time than in the complete image mode. Therefore, thereduction of the sensitive area of the detector leads to an increase inthe image rate.

The invention enables, in an easy way, the recording of images at highrates of approximately 5 to 10 images per second and so allows theexamination of a specimen in real time.

Preferably, the second number of detector elements is maximum a quarterof the first number of detector elements. In this way the image rate isincreased by at least factor 4 in comparison to the complete image mode.

Moreover, it is preferred if the second number of detector elements isarranged in a second area which forms a coherent partial area of thefirst area, i.e. the total area, of the detector. In particular, thefirst area of the detector has a first width and a first length, and thesecond area has a second width and a second length, the first and thesecond length being substantially identical, and the second width beingsmaller than the first width. In this way the selection of a narrow,elongate partial area with a small width and maximum length is madepossible.

The interferometer comprises a beam splitter and at least one reflector,the optical distance of which from the beam splitter can be changed byan optical path. The optical distance between the reflector and the beamsplitter is given by the spatial distance between the reflector and thebeam splitter which is multiplied by the refraction index of the mediumlocated between the reflector and the beam splitter. With an embodimentof the interferometer as a so-called free beam interferometer whereinair or a vacuum is located between the reflector and the beam splitterand the refraction index is approximately equal to 1, the opticaldistance of the reflector and the optical path by which the opticaldistance is changed is identical to the spatial distance or the spatialpath of the latter. The macroscopic change of the optical distance ofthe reflector is in this case produced by a macroscopic movement of thereflector by a spatial path which is substantially larger than theaverage path length of the light injected into the interferometer.Alternatively, with an embodiment of the interferometer as a so-callerfibre interferometer, a light-conducting element, in particular anoptical fibre, can be provided between the reflector and the beamsplitter, the optical length of which can be specifically changed by anoptical path. These optical fibres are also called fibre stretchers. Inthis case the optical distance or the optical path by which the opticaldistance is changed is given by the product of the spatial distance orthe spatial path by which the distance is changed and the refractionindex of the light conducting element which typically comes within therange around 1.5.

In a further embodiment of the invention the optical distance betweenthe reflector and the beam splitter can be changed by an optical pathwhich is substantially larger than the average wavelength of lightinjected into the interferometer. In this way a so-called depth scan orz scan can be produced by the optical distance between the reflector andthe beam splitter being changed by macroscopic optical paths oftypically 0.1 mm to several millimetres. As the optical distance betweenthe reflector and the beam splitter increases or decreases, the depthranges in which the coherence condition for interference is fulfilled“travel” through the specimen. The light reflected by individual planesat different depths of the specimen can be successively collected here,evaluated and finally combined to form an image of the specimen. Due tothis one can dispense with a moveable stage for the selection of therespective depth of the specimen in which an image is to be recorded. Atthe same time in this way the recording of a number of images atdifferent depths of the specimen is substantially accelerated.

The mean wavelength of the light injected into the interferometer comestypically within the infrared spectral range, preferably between 750 and1350 nm. In the case of a broadband light source, the mean wavelength ofthe light preferably comes within a spectral range in which the lightsource has an intensity maximum. Alternatively, the mean wavelength isgiven by an average value from all of the wavelengths emitted by thelight source. Preferably, the mean wavelength of the light injected intothe interferometer comes within a wavelength range in which the detectorhas a very high, in particular the highest, sensitivity.

In the first mode of the system, during the change of the opticaldistance between the macroscopically moveable reflector and the beamsplitter by the optical path, the light reflected by the specimen isonly collected a number of times by the second number of detectorelements of the detector, by means of which a number of two-dimensionaldepth sections are obtained by a spatial element of the specimen. Thenumber of depth sections corresponds here to the number of detectorelements along the second width of the second area of the detectorelements. If the second area of the detector comprises e.g. 640×4sensitive detector elements, a total of four depth sections are obtainedby the specimen.

In a second mode of the system the optical distance between a furtherreflector and the beam splitter is changed by a further optical pathwhich is maximum ten times the average wavelength of the light injectedinto the interferometer. During the change of the optical distancebetween this microscopically moveable reflector and the beam splitterthe light reflected by the specimen is collected by the detectorelements of the detector a number of times, in particular up to fivetimes, by means of which an image of a two-dimensional section at aspecific depth of the specimen is obtained. The respective depth of thespecimen from which the image of a two-dimensional section is obtainedis pre-specified here by the optical distance between themacroscopically moveable reflector and the beam splitter.

Therefore, with this embodiment both the macroscopically and also themicroscopically moveable reflector are moved. By choosing the distancebetween the macroscopically moveable reflector and the beam splitter thedepth at which a two-dimensional section is to be recorded ispre-specified. The actual recording of the light relevant to producingthe image at up to five points in time is then implemented during themovement of the microscopically moveable reflector. The macroscopicallymoveable reflector is meanwhile located at a fixed optical distance fromthe beam splitter. In this way the recording of two-dimensional sectionsthrough the specimen in real time is made possible in an easy and quickway.

In a third mode of the system, during the change of the optical distancebetween the macroscopically moveable reflector and the beam splitter bythe optical path, the light reflected by the specimen is recorded anumber of times by the detector elements of the detector by means ofwhich the light reflected by a number of two-dimensional sections atdifferent depths of the specimen is successively recorded. Here thedepth ranges in which the coherence condition is fulfilled forinterference move through the specimen synchronously with themacroscopic change of the optical distance between the macroscopicallymoveable reflector and the beam splitter so that the light reflected byindividual planes at different depths of the specimen is successivelycollected, evaluated and finally combined to form a three-dimensionalimage of the specimen.

Preferably a specimen objective is provided by means of which lightemitted by the interferometer is focussed into a focus lying on or inthe specimen, during a change of the optical distance between themacroscopically moveable reflector and the beam splitter the lightrespectively reflected at a number of different depths of the specimenbeing collected, and at the same time the imaging properties of thespecimen objective being controlled such that the focus comes within theregion of the respective depth of the specimen. By changing the opticaldistance between the reflector and the beam splitter—as already statedabove—interference patterns originating from different depths of thespecimen are recorded. Synchronously to this, the focus of the specimenobjective is changed such that it falls in the region of the respectivedepth of the specimen from which an interference pattern is recorded. Inthis way the focus of the light radiated into the specimen is trackedduring the depth scan, and so this can also be called “focus tracking”.By matching the focus of the specimen objective to the respective depthto be read out during a depth scan it is achieved that the interferencepattern obtained from a specific depth of the specimen can always beimaged onto the detector and recorded with the greatest possiblesharpness.

Moreover, it is preferred to modulate the intensity of light which isinjected into the interferometer or emitted by the interferometer with amodulation frequency. By modulating the intensity of the injected oremitted light, instead of a high-frequency interference pattern with aplurality of periods, a low-frequency beat frequency is obtained on thedetector between the modulation and the interference pattern to berecorded, the low-frequency beat frequency having clearly fewer periodsthan the high-frequency interference pattern. When recording this beatfrequency with the detector, considerably fewer sampling time points perunit of time are therefore required than when recording the interferencepattern without the modulation of the light intensity. This contributesto a further acceleration of the image recording, and so to aparticularly reliable real-time operation.

Alternatively, a detector system is provided which comprises thedetector, the sensitivity of the detector system to the light reflectedby the specimen and striking the detector being modulated with amodulation frequency f_(M). The light reflected by the specimen andstriking the detector is superposed with the modulated sensitivity ofthe detector system so that when recording the interference patternstriking the detector, instead of a high-frequency interference signalwith a plurality of periods, the detector produces a low-frequency beatfrequency signal which has considerably fewer periods than thehigh-frequency interference signal. Therefore, when recording this beatfrequency, clearly fewer sampling time points per unit of time arerequired than when recording the high-frequency interference signalwithout modulation of the sensitivity of the detector system. In thisway it is achieved that with a given maximum sampling rate considerablyshorter times are required for the recording of an interference patternobtained from a specific depth of the specimen. The number ofinterference signals recordable per unit of time is thereforesignificantly increased. In this way the image recording is furtheraccelerated, and so particularly reliable real-time operation is madepossible.

Preferably the modulation frequency f_(M) is not equal to the Dopplerfrequency f_(D), the Doppler frequency f_(D) being given by twice theratio of the speed v of the change of the optical distance between themacroscopically moveable reflector or between the microscopicallymoveable reflector and the beam splitter to the average wavelength λ₀ ofthe light injected into the interferometer: f_(M)≠f_(D)=2·v/λ₀. In thisway it is guaranteed that a low-frequency beat frequency is obtainedindependently of the respective phase position of the modulation and ofthe interference pattern. In this way the acceleration according to theinvention of the recording of interference patterns is achieved with ahigh degree of reliability.

Within the context of the invention, irradiation of the specimen withthe light emitted by the interferometer is to be understood as meaningthat the light emitted by the interferometer, which comprises themoveable reflector, impinges on the specimen directly or only impingeson the specimen after having passed through a further interferometerwhich is disposed between the interferometer and the specimen.

Within the context of the invention, collection of the light reflectedby the specimen, in particular at different depths of the specimen, bythe detector or the detector elements is to be understood as meaningthat the detector or the detector elements collect the light frommanifestations of interference which are produced upon superposition ofthe light reflected by the specimen, in particular at different depthsof the specimen, with the light reflected on a reference mirror. Thesuperposition of the light can take place here either in theinterferometer which comprises the moveable reflector or in a furtherinterferometer.

The invention and further advantageous embodiments of the invention aredescribed in greater detail in the following by means of figures. Theseshow as follows:

FIG. 1 an exemplary embodiment of the OCT system according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 a-b) two spatial elements of a specimen with individual sections;

FIG. 3 a-b) two cross-sections through the specimen and the specimen armof the second interferometer;

FIG. 4 a cross-section through the optical components of the secondinterferometer;

FIG. 5 interference signals and the evaluation of the latter with theautomatic calibration of the focus tracking;

FIG. 6 a-c) Interference signals and the envelope of the latter withnon-modulated and modulated intensity of the light injected into thefirst interferometer;

FIG. 7 an example of an electric circuit for modulating the sensitivityof the detector;

FIG. 8 an exemplary structure of a so-called Linnik interferometer;

FIG. 9 a-c) three different positions of the specimen objective and therespectively obtained interference patterns;

FIG. 10 a-b) respective sections from a longitudinal section through themultimode fibre of the first optical fibre in the region of the inputplane;

FIG. 11 a section from a cross-section through the fibre bundle of thesecond optical fibre and a partial region of this section shown inenlarged form;

FIG. 12 a section of the detector surface;

FIG. 13 the detector surface and the inlet and outlet surface of thesecond optical fibre;

FIG. 14 a-b) two examples of the embodiment of the second optical fibreas cross-sections;

FIG. 15 an interference pattern and a section from the interferencepattern in comparison to the individual fibres of the second opticalfibre;

FIG. 16 a section from a longitudinal section through the fibre bundleof the second optical fibre in the region of the inlet surface;

FIG. 17 a detector surface in the first operating mode;

FIG. 18 a spatial element of the specimen with depth sections; and

FIG. 19 a spatial element of the specimen with a two-dimensionaltomogram at a specific depth.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the system according to theinvention for OCT. The illustration chosen here of the individualcomponents of the system is greatly schematised and not true to scale.

A first interferometer 10 has a first reference mirror 11 in a fixedposition, a moveable second reference mirror 12 and a first beamsplitter 13. Light 14 from a light source 15 is injected into the firstinterferometer 10, split by the first beam splitter 13 into a firstpartial beam 2 in the direction of the first reference mirror 11 in afixed position and a second partial beam 3 in the direction of themoveable second reference mirror 12. The two partial beams 2 and 3 arereflected by the fixed first reference mirror 11 and the moveable secondreference mirror 12 and are superimposed in the first beam splitter 13to form a third partial beam 4 which is injected into a first opticalfibre 17 in the region of the output 8 of the first interferometer 10,conveyed from the latter to a second interferometer 20 and injected hereinto an illumination arm 21 of the second interferometer 20.

The light 14 injected into the first interferometer 10 is spectrallymodulated by the optical path described in association with the movementof the second reference mirror 12 and leaves the first interferometer 10in the form of the third partial beam 4 which is injected into thesecond interferometer 20. Therefore, the first interferometer 10 canalso be called a pre-modulator.

The second interferometer 20 serves as a sensor or measuring head whichis brought manually by an operator, for example a doctor, into contactwith the specimen 1 to be examined, in particular a biological tissue,and if appropriate is moved over the latter. The measuring head is socompact in structure here that its length preferably corresponds to thatof a conventional writing implement such as e.g. a fountain pen.

In order to form the second interferometer 20 in this compact manner,the optical axes of the illumination arm 21 and of a reference arm 23 inwhich a third reference mirror 25 is in a fixed position, arerespectively tilted about 90° in relation to the conventionalperpendicular arrangement of the two optical axes (see the firstinterferometer 10) and extend parallel to one another. In order todeflect the light beams from the illumination arm 21 and the referencearm 23 into the second beam splitter 24 a first and a second deflectingprism 26 and 28 are provided.

The first, second and third reference mirrors 11, 12 and 25 do not haveto be mirrors in the narrower sense, but are to be generally consideredas surfaces which at least partially reflect the light located withinthe first and second interferometers 10 and 12, and this is why thefirst, second and third reference mirrors 11, 12 and 25 can also becalled the first, second and third reflectors.

The partial beams superimposed in the second beam splitter 24 pass viathe specimen arm 22 of the second interferometer 20 into the specimen 1,are reflected here on boundary surfaces between media with differentrefraction indices, e.g. membranes or cell layers, and finally pass viathe specimen arm 22 and the second beam splitter 24 into the output arm27 from where they are injected into a second optical fibre 29 andconveyed via the latter to a detector objective 31 which images thelight conveyed by the optical fibre 29 onto the surface of atwo-dimensional detector 30, enlarging it.

The detector 30 is preferably a semiconductor detector in CMOStechnology and has a plurality of detector elements (pixels) disposed inan area, typically 640×512 pixels. Due to the simultaneous (“parallel”)recording of a plurality of reflections in different lateral positionsfrom a plane at a specific depth of the specimen 1 made possible bythis, this type of OCT can also be called “parallel OCT”.

The detector signals produced upon collecting the light striking theindividual detector elements of the detector 30 are further processed inan electric circuit 32 and finally forwarded to a computer system 16 forgraphic display and, if required, processing.

In comparison to OCT systems with just one interferometer, with the OCTsystem described here the movement of the second reference mirror 12 forthe spectral modulation of the injected light 14, the direct collectingof the light reflected by the specimen 1 and the recording of the imageare allocated to three spatially separate components, namely to thefirst interferometer 10, the second interferometer 20 which constitutesthe measuring head, and the detector 30.

By shifting the movement of the second reference mirror 12 and therecording of the image onto separate components, the secondinterferometer 20, and so the measuring head, can be designed to be verycompact and easy to manage. This makes the present OCT systemparticularly suitable for applications at external or internal locationsof a body to be examined which are very difficult to access.

In the following sections preferred embodiments of the system accordingto the invention and advantageous combinations of individual embodimentsare described in greater detail.

1. Depth Scan by Macroscopic Movement of the Reference Mirror

The moveable second reference mirror 12 in the first interferometer 10has an optical distance I from the first beam splitter 13 and, startingfrom an initial position N, implements a linear, preferably periodic,movement towards the first beam splitter 13 and away from the first beamsplitter 13 with an optical path length L and amplitude A, the opticalpath length L and the amplitude A being at least 100 times, preferably1000 times, greater than the average wavelength λ₀ of the light 14injected into the first interferometer 10.

The optical distance I is given here by the product of the spatialdistance between the second reference mirror 12 and the first beamsplitter 13 and the refraction index of the medium located between thesecond reference mirror 12 and the first beam splitter 13.

With the preferred embodiment of the first interferometer 10 as aso-called free-beam interferometer described here with which air or avacuum is to be found between the second reference mirror 12 and thefirst beam splitter 13 and the refraction index is approximately equalto 1, the optical distance I of the second reference mirror 12 and theoptical path L by which the optical distance I is changed is identicalto the spatial distance or spatial path of the latter. In this case themacroscopic change of the optical distance of the second referencemirror 12 is produced by a macroscopic movement of the second referencemirror 12 by a spatial path which is substantially greater than theaverage path length λ₀ of the light 14 injected into the firstinterferometer.

Alternatively, with an embodiment of the first interferometer 10 as aso-called fibre interferometer (not shown) between the second referencemirror 12 and the first beam splitter 13 a light-conducting element, inparticular an optical fibre, can be provided the optical length of whichcan be changed specifically by an optical path. These optical fibres arealso called fibre stretchers. In this case the optical distance or theoptical path by which the optical distance is changed is given by theproduct of the spatial distance or the spatial path by which thedistance is changed and the refraction index of the light-conductingelement which typically comes within the range around 1.5.

The average wavelength λ₀ of the light 14 injected into the firstinterferometer 10 comes typically within the infrared spectral range,preferably between 750 and 1350 nm.

In the case of a broadband light source 15 the average wavelength λ₀ ofthe light 14 preferably comes within a spectral range in which the light14 of the light source 15 has an intensity maximum. Alternatively, theaverage wavelength λ₀ is given by an average value of all of thewavelengths emitted by the light source 15.

Preferably, the average wavelength λ₀ of the light 14 injected into thefirst interferometer 10 comes within a wavelength range in which thedetector 30 has a very high, in particular the highest, sensitivity. Inthe system illustrated, the light 14 has an average wavelength λ₀ ofapproximately 1300 nm and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) ofapproximately 200 nm.

With an average wavelength λ₀ of the light 14 in the range of e.g. 1 μmthe optical wavelength L and amplitude A of the movement of thereference mirror 12 is therefore at least approximately 0.1 mm,preferably at least approximately 1 mm.

Unlike the normal microscopic amplitude of the reference mirror movementin the prior art in the order of magnitude of fractions of the averagewavelength λ₀ of the injected light 14, i.e. of up to typically 1 μm, inthe system described a macroscopic movement of the second referencemirror 12 in the order of magnitude of 0.1 mm to a number of millimetresis implemented.

During the macroscopic linear movement of the second reference mirror 12the light reflected by the specimen 1 is forwarded via the secondinterferometer 20, the second optical fibre 29 and the detector optics31 to the two-dimensional detector 30 and recorded by the lattersuccessively at a number of points in time respectively for a specificperiod of time which corresponds to the integration time of the detector30, and converted into corresponding detector signals.

In order for interference to be able to occur between the lightreflected by the third reference mirror 25 and the light reflected bythe specimen 1, the so-called coherence condition must be fulfilledwhich, among other things proves that the respectively reflected lightwaves must have a constant phase relationship with one another in orderto be able to interfere with one another. Due to the use of light 14with a very short coherence length of typically 10 μm, the condition ofa constant phase relationship is only fulfilled at specific depths ordepth ranges of the specimen 1 which are therefore also called acoherence gate.

Each position of the second reference mirror 12 during the macroscopicmovement corresponds here to a specific depth within the specimen 1 or adepth range around this specific depth for which the coherence conditionis fulfilled so that interference can occur between the light reflectedby the third reference mirror 25 and the light reflected by the specimen1.

In the case of a periodic movement of the second reference mirror 12both half periods of the periodic movement of the second referencemirror 12 can respectively be used to record detector signals.

In this way successive two-dimensional sections are recorded fromdifferent depths of the specimen 1 by the detector 30. This isillustrated in FIG. 2 a) in which—representative of a plurality oftwo-dimensional sections—a first, second and third two-dimensionalsection 34, 35 and 36 are illustrated by a spatial element 33 of thespecimen 1. This type of two-dimensional section “passes” synchronouslywith the macroscopic movement of the second reference mirror 12 indirection a through the examined spatial element 33 of the specimen 1without the latter having to be moved itself.

Each section 34, 35 and 36 lies at a depth T1, T2 and T3 of the specimen1 in which the coherence condition is respectively fulfilled so thatinterference can occur between the light reflected by the thirdreference mirror 25 and the light reflected by the specimen 1.Therefore, the macroscopic movement of the second reference mirror 12 incombination with the successive two-dimensional collection of the lightreflected by the specimen 1 has the effect of a three-dimensional depthscan.

FIG. 2 b) shows in comparison to this a method used in the prior art. Inorder to obtain sections 37 of different depths through the spatialelement 33 observed the specimen 1 itself must be moved in direction brelative to the interferometer while the absolute position of thesection 38 within the space remains substantially unchanged.

In contrast to this, the combination described above of the macroscopiclinear movement of the reference mirror 12 on the one hand with thecollecting of the light reflected by the specimen 1 with atwo-dimensional detector 30 on the other hand enables recording of acomplete three-dimensional set of data for the desired spatial element33 of the specimen 1 which is substantially easier and quicker toimplement. By means of the macroscopic movement of the second referencemirror 12 a three-dimensional tomogram is thus obtained instead of animage from a specific depth which is only two-dimensional. Unlikesystems according to the prior art, with this method for recording athree-dimensional set of data the specimen 1 no longer needs to be movedrelative to the second interferometer 20. This makes the OCT systemdescribed compact, reliable and easy to handle, and so the latter isparticularly suitable for use in vivo.

The three-dimensional set of data obtained in this way enables a precisediagnosis, in particular with biological specimens. Software-supporteddiagnosis aids can be used with a particularly high level of efficiencyhere, e.g. so-called “3D rendering” with which a three-dimensional setof data is processed by special software such that a quasithree-dimensional image is produced on a two-dimensional monitor. Forthis, cavities or tissue detachments, for example, can be shown as athree-dimensional animation—comparable to computer tomography (CT).

2. Focus Tracking

The OCT system described above is designed such that during a completestroke, i.e. the wavelength L or twice the amplitude A, of the movementof the second reference mirror 12 an interference signal withsufficiently high intensity and great sharpness is always obtained. Bymeans of the focus tracking described in greater detail in the followingit is guaranteed that the interference signal and the sharpness of theinterference pattern recorded are maximal for all depths within thespecimen 1.

For this purpose, while collecting the light reflected by the specimen 1the focus, i.e. the focal point of the imaging optics on the side of thespecimen of the second interferometer 20 is set such that the positionof the focus in the specimen 1 and the position of the plane in thespecimen 1 with which, in the case of reflection of light, the coherencecondition is fulfilled and interference occurs, are substantiallyidentical at all times while recording a tomogram of the spatial element33 of the specimen 1. This is illustrated in the following by means ofFIGS. 3 a) and 3 b).

FIG. 3 a) shows the case where the focus F of the specimen objective41—only shown in simplified form here as a lens—of the specimen arm 22lies at a depth of the specimen 1 which does not correspond to theposition of the coherence gate K. The section through the specimen 1recorded within the coherence gate K at the depth Ti is in this way notimaged exactly sharply onto the detector 30 (see FIG. 1), and soinformation losses during recording of the interference have to beaccepted.

On the other hand, FIG. 3 b) shows the case where the focus F of thespecimen objective 41 has been set such that it comes within thecoherence gate K at the depth Ti. This tracking of the focus F of thespecimen objective 41 corresponding to the respective depth Ti of thecoherence gate K is called focus tracking. In this way, during the depthscan the second interferometer 20 is adjusted sharply to the respectiveposition of the coherence gate K at different depths Ti of the specimen1 so that images with great sharpness are obtained from each depth ofthe specimen 1.

The maximum optical scan depth Tm specifies to which depth beneath thesurface of the specimen 1 the coherence condition is fulfilled forconstructive interference and corresponding interference patterns areobtained.

Moreover, by means of the focus tracking it is achieved that theilluminated surfaces on the unmoveable third reference mirror 25 in thesecond interferometer 20 on the one hand and at the respective depth ofthe specimen 1 on the other hand are identical at every depth Ti in thespecimen 1 sampled. Moreover, the images of the respective illuminatedsurfaces via the reference arm 23 and the specimen arm 22 in the commonimage plane 27 a of the reference and specimen arm 23 and 22 areidentical and exactly superimposed.

In the following preferred embodiments of the OCT system described forthe implementation of focus tracking are described in greater detail.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section through the arrangement of the individualoptical components in the second interferometer 20. The specimenobjective 41 in the specimen arm 22 preferably comprises a number oflenses 42 which can be moved individually and/or in groups in directionR over the specimen 1 or away from the latter. For this purpose apiezoelectric actuator 40, in particular an ultrasound piezo motor, isprovided which is coupled to the specimen objective 41 or the lenses 42and moves the latter along one or a number of guides 38, in particularguide bars or guide grooves.

The movement of the lenses 42 preferably takes place synchronously withthe macroscopic movement of the reference mirror 12 in the firstinterferometer 10 (see FIG. 1). In this way the focus F of the specimenobjective 41 follows the coherence gate G while the latter passesthrough successive different depths T1, T2 and T3 of the specimen 1 fromwhich, with the aid of the detector 30, two-dimensional sections 34, 35and 36 (see FIG. 2) are respectively recorded.

The synchronisation of the macroscopic movement of the reference mirror12 and the focus tracking on the one hand in combination with atwo-dimensional detector 30 on the other hand guarantees particularlysimple and rapid recording of a plurality of sharp, two-dimensionalimage sections at different depths of the specimen 1 and so therecording of a complete, three-dimensional set of image data with highimage quality.

Since the first interferometer 10 and the optical imaging in thespecimen arm 22 are continuously matched to one another, theinterference signals recorded by the detector 30 for each depth in thespecimen 1 are maximal so that a very high signal to noise ratio isproduced. Moreover, in this way it is ensured that the lateralresolution for all depths in the specimen 1 is optimal because the focusF of the image always comes within the coherence gate K. In this waytrue-to-detail OCT images with high contrast are obtained.

Advantageously, the speed v2 of the movement of the lenses 42 of thespecimen objective 41 in direction R is lower than the speed v1 of themovement of the reference mirror 12. Preferably, a ratio v1/v2 of thespeeds of the reference mirror 12 and of the lenses 42 is chosen herewhich is approximately equal to 2·n−1 or up to approximately ±20%,preferably up to approximately ±10% around this value. In this way theposition of the focus F and coherence gate G are matched to one anotherwith a particularly high degree of reliability, as can be illustrated bythe following consideration.

The focus F of the specimen objective 41 comes within a specimen 1 therefraction index n of which is generally not equal to one. If on the onehand one shifts the specimen objective 41 by a specific path indirection R of specimen 1, the focus F shifts within the specimen by aspecific amount d_(F). For example, the shift of the specimen objective41 by 0.78 mm with a refraction index of the specimen 1 of 1.4 leads toa shift in the focus in the specimen 1 by approximately d_(F)=1 mm. If,on the other hand, the reference mirror 12 is shifted by a specificpath, the coherence gate K also shifts by a specific amount d_(k). Forexample, a shift in the reference mirror 12 by 1.4 mm with a refractionindex n=1.4 produces a shift in the coherence gate K by approximatelyd_(k)=1 mm. In this way with a shift in the reference mirror 12 and thespecimen objective 41 respectively by the same path, with a depth scanthe coherence gate K and the focus F would move apart from one anotherover a macroscopic depth range.

By means of the selection described above of the ratio v1/v2 of thespeeds of the reference mirror 12 and of the lenses 42 it is guaranteedthat during the depth scan the coherence gate K and the focus F lie overone another in the whole depth range observed. In the above example of aspecimen with a refraction index n=1.4 the ratio v1/v2 of the speedscomes within the range of approximately (2·1.4−1)±20%, i.e. betweenapproximately 1.44 and 2.16, and is preferably approximately2·1.4−1=1.8.

The synchronisation of the movement of the reference mirror 12 and ofthe lenses 42 preferably takes place such that the reference mirror 12and the lenses 42 pass at a specific point in time through twodifferent, pre-defined spatial points at respectively constant,pre-defined and different speeds v1 and v2.

After passing through the spatial points the recording of the actual OCTsignals up to the pre-defined depth in the specimen 1 starts. With aperiodic forwards and backwards movement of the reference mirror 12 OCTsignals can be recorded here both during the forwards and during thebackwards movement of the reference mirror 12. The synchronisation ofthe reference mirror 12 and the lenses 42 takes place here in the sameway and is re-set after each change in direction.

The measuring head in which the specimen objective 41 is located can bemoved freely relative to the first interferometer 10 in which the secondreference mirror 12 is located. A mechanical coupling of the specimenobjective 41 and the reference mirror 12 for the synchronisation of thelens and reference mirror movements would lead to insufficient precisionof the synchronisation.

Therefore, the synchronisation of the movements of the reference mirror12 on the one hand and of the lenses 42 of the specimen objective 41 onthe other hand is preferably implemented electronically. It isadvantageous here to provide respectively in the region of the referencemirror 12 and the lenses 42 of the specimen objective 41 a positionsensor 5 and 39 which records the current reference mirror and lensposition and converts this into corresponding position signals. Bothposition signals are supplied to a control unit, in particular thecomputer system 16, which then correspondingly controls the actuation ofthe reference mirror 12 and the lenses 42.

The control of the reference mirror 12 and of the lenses 42 ispreferably implemented by feedback of the position signals by means of aso-called master-slave system. With this type of master-slave system ameasured position value in a first positioning unit is the basis for adesired value of the control circuit for a second positioning unit. Inthe present case the measured position of the first positioning unit ofthe reference mirror 12 is multiplied by a factor smaller than 1 andsupplied to the second positioning unit of the lenses 42 as a newdesired value. In this way the relative position error between themoveable reference mirror 12 and the lenses 42 is minimised, even with arelatively large absolute positioning error of the first positioningunit. In this way both components are coupled to one anotherelectronically, like by means of a mechanical gearing, and so this canalso be called electronic gearing.

The focus tracking can alternatively or additionally be implemented byan adaptive lens being provided in the specimen objective 41 the imagingproperties of which can be specifically controlled and changed. Forexample, an oil and water lens can be controlled electrically such thatthe radii of curvature of the latter change, by means of which the focusof the latter can be changed and easily be adapted to the respectiveposition of the coherence gate. In this case the speed and the start ofthe change of the focus F of the adaptive lens must be synchronised withthe movement of the reference mirror 12 in the same way as the methodsdescribed above.

3. Automatic Calibration of the Focus Tracking

On the specimen side end of the specimen arm 22 of the secondinterferometer 20 in the form of a measuring head a material layer 43(see FIG. 4) is provided which is preferably made of sapphire glass. Thematerial layer 43 is coated on the inside 44 with an anti-reflex layerand is preferably uncoated on the outside 45 on the specimen side.

The OCT system can be operated in a diagnosis mode and in a calibratingmode. In the diagnosis mode, which corresponds to the normal measuringoperation, the specimen side outside 45 of the material layer 43 iscoated with a so-called index matching gel and brought into contact withthe specimen 1 to be examined, three-dimensional images of which arerecorded. In the calibrating mode the position of the focus F of thespecimen objective 41 relative to the coherence gate K is determined,the outside 45 of the material layer 43, which is preferably in airduring the calibrating process, serves as a reference surface.

In the calibrating mode the amplitude of the OCT signal, which is causedby a reflection of the light due to the passage of the light from thematerial layer 43 into air, is measured for different positions of thespecimen objective 41, the following procedural steps, which areillustrated by means of FIGS. 4 and 5, being implemented:

-   a) the group of lenses 42 is brought into an initial position by    being moved as close as possible to the second beam splitter 24;-   b) the group of lenses 42 is left in this position;-   c) during a macroscopic movement of the second reference mirror 12    the amplitude Ai of the maximum of the interference signal is    determined;-   d) the group of lenses 42 is moved away by a few micrometres,    typically 5 to 20 μm, from the second beam splitter 24 and kept in    this position;-   e) steps c) to d) are repeated for a number of different positions    P1 to P11 of the lenses 42, for each position P1 to P11 of the    lenses 42 an amplitude A1 to A11 of the maximum of the respective    interference signal being obtained;-   f) the position P9 of the group of lenses 42 where the amplitude A9    is at its greatest is established;-   g) steps c) to f) are repeated close to position P9 of this maximum    with a smaller step width, typically 0.5 μm to 5 μm, the position    P9′ of the group of lenses 42 where the amplitude A9′ is at its    greatest being established;-   h) from the reference mirror movement assigned to this position P9′    of the group of lenses 42 position Xm of the moveable reference    mirror 12 where the interference signal is maximal is established.

Alternatively, the calibration can also be implemented such that thespecimen objective 41 moves to the second beam splitter 24 during thecalibration.

If the group of lenses 42 is located in position P9′ and the referencemirror 12 in position Xm, the coherence gate and the focus position areidentical. The established positions P9′ and Xm are set in the diagnosismode as the initial position of the lens or lenses or of the reflector.

In this way any changes in the OCT system are automatically correctedwithout any additional hardware being required for this. Even if thematerial layer is contaminated or coated with index matching gel, themethod described would work because then the passage of the light fromdirt to air or gel to air would be used. The method is very fast andonly lasts for a few seconds. It can therefore be implementedfrequently, by means of which high system reliability is guaranteed.

In order to further increase the precision of the calibration methoddescribed, an additional element made of glass or plastic—a so-calledtarget—can be applied to the material layer. The method described aboveis then implemented for two or more depths within the additionalelement. In this way, not only can an offset of the reference points forthe movement of the reference mirror 12 and of the lenses 42 becorrected, but also any non-linearity. With the calibrating methoddescribed above a number of reference surfaces are then used, a numberof position pairs being determined for which the focus position and thecoherence gate are identical. In this way, not only can a constantrelative position error between the two positioning units be corrected,but any errors in the relative linearity or the relative speed of thetwo units can be corrected. Such errors can be produced e.g. by ageingof the position sensors 5 and 39 when, for example, the positionsensitivity of one of the two position sensors 5 and 39 changes.

In summary it can be established that the dynamic synchronisation of thefocus position and the coherence gate in the diagnosis mode of the OCTsystem described leads to a plurality of advantages with regard to imagequality and reliability. With additional, in particular regular, use ofthe calibrating mode described this synchronisation can be guaranteedover a long period of time.

4. Modulation of the Intensity of the Light Source

With the OCT system described the interference pattern produced isrecorded with the detector 30, a corresponding interference signal beingproduced. The sampling rate of the detector 30 for sampling theinterference signal must be chosen here so that the temporal variationof the interference structure can be recorded with sufficient accuracy.This generally requires high sampling rates if high speeds are to beachieved for a depth scan.

Since the individual periods of an interference structure must generallyrespectively be sampled at a number of points in time, the maximumpossible scan speed in the direction of the depth of the specimen 1 isdependent upon the maximum possible sampling rate of the detector 30.When using rapid detector arrays with a high level of spatialresolution, i.e. a large number of detector elements per unit of length,the maximum sampling rate is typically in the range of approximately 1kHz. With an average wavelength of the injected light 14 of for example850 nm this leads to a maximum speed for the depth scan of approximately0.1 mm/s if four points per period of the interference structure arerecorded.

FIG. 6 a) shows the development over time of a typical interferencesignal which is sampled at a sampling rate of respectively four samplingtime points P per period. In the figure four such points within a periodof the interference signal are drawn in as an example.

In order to increase the speed of the depth scan, in the present OCTsystem the intensity of the light 14 injected into the firstinterferometer 10 is temporally modulated. This modulation takes placeperiodically, the frequency of the latter being greater or smaller by aspecific amount, preferably by up to 40%, than the Doppler frequencyf_(D) which is given by the average wavelength λ₀ of the injected light14 and the speed v of the moveable reference mirror 12: f_(D)=2v/λ₀.Typical frequencies of this modulation come within the range between 1kHz and 25 kHz.

Alternatively or additionally, the intensity of the light of the thirdpartial beam 4 emitted by the first interferometer 10 can also bemodulated with the modulation frequency f_(M) in order to achieve theadvantageous effect described above. The modulation is preferablyimplemented here during the injection of the light of the third partialbeam 4 into the first optical fibre 17 at the output 8 of the firstinterferometer 10. However, the intensity modulation can also take placein the second interferometer 10 before the light of the third partialbeam 4 is emitted. In order to modulate the intensity of the lightemitted by the second interferometer 10 an optical element is preferablyprovided which is disposed e.g. in the first interferometer 10 or in theregion of the output 8 of the first interferometer 10 and can bespecifically changed as regards its transmission or imaging properties.Therefore, for example, by means of an adaptive optical element in theregion of the output 8 of the first interferometer 10 the intensity ofthe light of the third partial beam 4 emitted by the firstinterferometer 10 can be periodically switched from “high” to “low”.However, the optical element can also be disposed in the optical path ofthe first interferometer 10, e.g. between one of the reference mirrors11 or 12 and the first beam splitter 13.

The definite choice of modulation frequency is made dependently upon theaverage wavelength λ₀ of the injected light 14 of the light source 15,the desired scan speed of the depth scan and the maximum sampling rateof the detector 30.

Preferably the modulation frequency is chosen such that it correspondsto the maximum sampling rate of the detector 30 or a whole numbermultiple of the latter. The maximum sampling rate is given here by thereciprocal value of the minimum frame time of the detector 30. Theminimum frame time of the detector 30 is made up of the minimum timerequired in order to record a complete image and the minimum down timeof the detector 30 which elapses until the next image can be recorded.The minimum frame time generally increases as the size of the imagerecorded increases.

The form of the modulation of the intensity of the light 14 ispreferably sinusoidal or rectangular. The latter form can be producede.g. simply by means of a rotating chopper wheel 18 (see FIG. 1). Otherpossibilities are acousto-optic or electro-optic modulators or liquidcrystal modulators. A direct modulation of the light source 15 is alsopossible, the latter being controlled such that it emits the light 14with temporally modulated intensity.

A corresponding effect can alternatively or additionally be achieved byan optical element, which is disposed e.g. before or after the firstbeam splitter 13 (see FIG. 1), being switched as to its transmission orimaging property. Therefore, for example, by correspondingly connectingan adaptive optical element the injection efficiency of the thirdpartial beam 4 into the first optical fibre 17 could periodically beswitched from “high” to “low”.

The described modulation of the intensity of the injected light 14 witha modulation frequency deviating, preferably slightly, from the Dopplerfrequency produces a low-frequency beat frequency between the modulationand the interference signal.

FIG. 6 b) shows the time behaviour of a beat frequency signal obtainedupon the basis of the modulation described of the injected light 14which—like the interference signal in the example of FIG. 6 a)—issampled at a sampling rate of respectively four sampling time points Pper period. Upon sampling the beat frequency signal, due to the lowerfrequency of the latter considerably fewer sampling time points P perunit of time are required than with the sampling of the interferencesignal in FIG. 6 a) so that with a fixed sampling rate given by thechoice of detector 30, considerably higher speeds can be achieved forthe depth scan.

A further advantage of this method is described in greater detail in thefollowing.

The integration time of the detector 30 corresponds to the period oftime over which the detector 30 collects and thus integrates the lighthitting the detector elements in the region of a time P. The detector 30is preferably operated such that the integration time is only marginallyshorter than the frame time. The frame time is chosen here such that itcorresponds exactly to the duration of a period of the modulation or toa whole number multiple of the latter. The beat frequency signal shownin FIG. 6 b) was obtained by integration over the duration of twoperiods of the modulation.

If one were to increase the scan speed without modulating the intensityof the light 14 as described above, the frame time—and so theintegration time—of the detector 30 would have to become shorter becausethe Doppler frequency would increase and in this way sampling timepoints P lying closer together in time would be necessary. However, ashorter integration time would lead to a reduction of the photonscollected per integration and per detector element, and this would leadto a reduction in the signal/noise ratio due to the so-called Schottnoise resulting from the statistical nature of the photons. In order toimprove the signal/noise ratio again, the intensity of the injectedlight 14 would have to be increased in proportion to the scan speed.

If, on the other hand, one increases the scan speed with the aid of themodulation of the intensity of the light 14 described above, theintegration time can remain constant. There is only a light loss of 50%due to the modulation of the light 14. With the preferred modulationfrequency, which corresponds to twice the reciprocal value of a frametime, there is an increase by factor 8 of the speed. In this case fourtimes less light intensity is required in order to achieve this increasein speed than in the case without modulation. The effects of the lightloss amounting to 50% due to the modulation are in this wayover-compensated.

With the described method, the required intensity of the light 14 of thelight source 15 must—unlike direct sampling without beatfrequency—therefore not be increased with the scan speed because in thiscase the integration time of the detector 30 can remain constant.

A further advantage of the light modulation is the reduction of thequantity of data for a complete three-dimensional depth scan. With therecording of a three-dimensional set of data with a lateral size of512×640 pixels and a scan depth of 1 mm in a tissue with the refractionindex n=1.4, approx. 6 Gbytes of data are produced. With the modulationof the intensity of the light 14 described above the quantity of data isreduced to 750 Mbytes.

Moreover, the directly obtained data must additionally be processed inorder to display the image result. Here too the reduced quantity of datais very advantageous because in this way the processing time isconsiderably reduced, and so the image result is available more quickly.

Preferably the Doppler frequency and/or the modulation frequency arechosen such that a period of the resulting beat frequency signal is awhole number multiple of the minimum frame time of the detector 30, i.e.such that the maximum sampling rate of the detector 30 is a whole numbermultiple of the frequency of the beat frequency signal.

If one chooses a period length of the modulation of the light 14 as aminimum frame time of the detector 30, the scan speed increases byfactor 4 in relation to the scan speed with non-modulated light 14. If,however, one chooses a minimum frame time of two periods of themodulation, the scan speed increases by the factor 8.

FIG. 6 c) shows the envelope Eu and Em of the interference signal orbeat frequency signal shown in FIGS. 6 a) and 6 b) with unmodulated andmodulated light 14. Each point P′ of the envelope Eu and Em correspondshere to a sampling time P of the associated interference signal or beatfrequency signal.

Information is deduced from the respective envelope Eu and Em from whichinitially one-, two- and finally three-dimensional images of thespecimen 1 are put together. As trials have shown, by means of theintensity modulation implemented, despite the considerably smallernumber of measuring points P and P′, no relevant information losses incomparison to a conventional system without intensity modulation occur.

Overall, by means of the described modulation of the intensity of theinjected light 14 the maximum possible speed of the depth scan ismultiplied without any significant information losses occurring when thesignal is evaluated.

5. Modulation of the Sensitivity of the Detector System

The principle of the modulation of the intensity of the light 14injected into the first interferometer 10 and of the light of the thirdpartial beam 4 emitted by the first interferometer described above canbe analogously applied to the sensitivity of the detector system which,among other things, comprises the detector 30 and the detector objective31 by the sensitivity of the detector system, in particular of thedetector 30, being modulated for the light to be collected with afrequency which is preferably greater or smaller than the Dopplerfrequency f_(D) by a specific amount, in particular by up to 40%.

The light reflected by the specimen 1 and striking the detector 30 issuperimposed here with the modulated sensitivity of the detector system30, 31 so that when recording the interference pattern striking thedetector 30 the detector 30 produces, instead of a high-frequencyinterference signal with a plurality of periods, a low-frequency beatfrequency signal which has considerably fewer periods than thehigh-frequency interference signal. With the sampling of this beatfrequency considerably fewer sampling time points are therefore requiredper unit of time than with sampling of the high-frequency interferencesignal without the modulation of the sensitivity of the detector system30, 31.

The sensitivity of the detector 30 can be modulated e.g. directly orwith a controllable electronic shutter disposed in front of the detector30. Alternatively or additionally, properties of an optical element inthe detector system, such as e.g. the permeability of the detectorobjective 31, can be modulated for the light reflected by the specimen1.

The mode of operation of the direct modulation of the sensitivity of thedetector 30 is illustrated in greater detail by means of FIG. 7 whichshows a greatly schematised electric circuit. Each of the detectorelements 80 of a CMOS detector can be illustrated in simplified form inthe equivalent circuit diagram as a photodiode 81 which is pre-stressedwith a voltage U1. An ohm resistor and a capacitor are optionallyconnected parallel to the photodiode 81. By irradiating the detectorelement 80 with light, charge carriers are produced in the photodiode 81which trigger a flow of current I1 which is added up in an accumulator82 of an electronic integrator 83. By means of periodic switching on andoff of this integration by means of a switch 84 which is controlled withthe modulation frequency f_(M), the amount of charge, and so therespectively currently recorded light intensity is modulated with themodulation frequency f_(M). By means of a sample-and-hold step 87 thecorresponding detector signal is picked up and delivered for furtherprocessing. The further switches 85 and 86 serve to control therestoration of the integration and the picking up of the detectorsignal.

In the same way as the modulation of the intensity of the injected oremitted light 14 and 4 described above, with this version too, insteadof a high-frequency interference signal, a low-frequency beat frequencysignal (see FIGS. 6 a) and b)) is obtained which can be sampled withconsiderably fewer sampling time points P without losing any relevantinformation here. With a given maximum sampling rate of the detector 30,the consequence of this is that the maximum speed for a depth scan ofthe system can be increased by a multiple.

As with the modulation of the injected or emitted light 14 and 4 (seesection 4), here too, by means of an appropriate choice of frequency ofthe modulation of the sensitivity of the detector system 30, 31, thescan speed is increased by factor 4 or even 8 in comparison with systemswith constant detector sensitivity.

The speed of the movement of the second reference mirror 12 is in afixed relationship to the frequency of the modulation of the sensitivityof the detector 30 and is preferably chosen such that over a periodduration of the beat frequency signal produced a whole number amount ofsampling time points, preferably four sampling time points, pass (seeFIG. 6 b)).

The beat frequency signals sampled in this way must be processed againbefore a visualisation because the interference information is alsocontained in these signals. The essential information which is to bevisualised is the amplitude and the depth position of the respectiveinterference, not however the interference structure itself. For thispurpose the beat frequency signal must be demodulated, i.e. the envelopeof the beat frequency signal is determined (see Em in FIG. 6 c)).

Since the phase of the beat frequency signal is generally unknown andthis can also be different for different beat frequency signals fromdifferent depths, a digital demodulation algorithm is used which isindependent of the phase. Preferably, for the sampling of theinterference signal with four sampling time points per period so-called90° phase shift algorithms are used. In this way fast demodulation ofthe beat frequency signal is achieved.

6. Measuring Head with Asymmetrical Linnik Interferometer

In the following the structure of the measuring head, which comprisesthe second interferometer 20, is illustrated in greater detail by meansof FIGS. 4, 8 and 9.

The second interferometer 20 is a so-called Linnik interferometer. FIG.8 shows an example of a typical structure of this type of Linnikinterferometer with a beam splitter 77, reference mirror 78, detector 79and specimen 70. With this type of Linnik interferometer limits arebasically set for miniaturisation, and this applies in particular to thediameters of the optical elements used such as e.g. the objectives 75and 76 and the lenses 71 and 74, and the geometric structure. Thestructure of the specimen and reference objective 75 and 76 and thedistance q between the latter and the beam splitter 77 are substantiallyequal.

With the Linnik interferometer used in the present OCT system thedistances between the specimen and reference objective 41 and 46 and thesecond beam splitter 24 (see FIG. 4) are generally not equal for allscan depths due to the focus tracking. In this way large relativeoptical path length differences (OPD) can occur between the image centreand the image edge of the specimen and reference image. The consequenceof these can be that the spatial frequency of the interference structureto be recorded becomes greater than the resolution of thetwo-dimensional detector 30 due to which the interference can no longerbe demonstrated, or only be demonstrated insufficiently reliably.

In order to avoid these disadvantages, in the second interferometer 20of the present OCT system the specimen and reference objective 41 and 46are designed differently (“asymmetrically”) and matched to one another,as illustrated in greater detail below by means of FIG. 4.

The distance p between the specimen objective 41, in particular of thelenses 42, and the second beam splitter 24 is chosen to be very small.For the upper scan position in which the light reflected by a sectionlying close to the surface of the specimen 1 (see FIG. 2 a) iscollected, the distance p is preferably between 1 and 3 mm. In this waythe diameters of the lenses 42 and 49 in the specimen and reference arm22 and 23 are chosen to be very small with at the same time a largelight yield.

A further group of lenses 47 in the output arm 27 forms together withthe specimen and reference objective 41 and 46 the specimen andreference optics. The specimen and reference optics are telecentric onthe side of the specimen 1 and of the third reference mirror 25.Telecentric optics are characterised in that the object distance can bevaried and the image size nevertheless remains constant. This isachieved by an aperture stop.

The numerical aperture for the imaging of the specimen 1 is relativelylarge, preferably approximately 0.3. However, the numerical aperture ofthe illumination of the specimen 1 is smaller than the numericalaperture for the imaging of the specimen 1, and preferably has a valueof 0.2. In this way, together with the telecentric design of thespecimen and reference optics one gains the advantage of the lightreflected on inclined specimen structures also being picked up by thespecimen objective 41 because the acceptance angle of the specimenobjective 41 is greater than the divergence angle of the illuminationcone. If the numerical aperture for illumination and imaging were ofequal size, however, with the reflection on inclined specimen structuresless light would be picked up than with the reflection on structureswhich are perpendicular to the optical axis.

In the specimen arm 22 the smaller numerical aperture for theillumination is provided by the choice of illumination objective 48 inthe illumination arm 21. The numerical aperture in the reference arm 23is equal to or somewhat larger than the numerical aperture of theillumination arm 21. This is particularly advantageous with the foldedLinnik interferometer used here because in this way the referenceobjective 46 can be adapted relatively easily to the specimen objective41 and moreover can be produced compactly.

The optical path through the lenses 49 of the reference objective 46(including any air spaces between the lenses 49) is shorter than theoptical path through the group of lenses 42 of the specimen objective41.

By means of these measures it is possible for the image field curvaturesof the specimen arm and the reference arm 22 and 23 in the centre of theused scan depth to be largely identical. Moreover, it is guaranteed thatthe maximum optical path length difference (OPD) between the imagecentre and image edge on the upper and lower end of the depth scan issmall enough in order to guarantee a spatial frequency of theinterference structure which is small enough in order to fulfil theNyquist condition with regard to the detector 30. In this way thespatial frequency of the interference structures from different depthsin the observed spatial element 33 of the specimen 1 is always smallerthan the resolution of the two-dimensional detector 30. The interferencestructures are in this way always recorded with a high degree ofreliability at every depth of the observed spatial element 33 of thespecimen 1.

This is illustrated in FIGS. 9 a) to c) in which a specimen side sectionof the cross-section of the second interferometer 20 is shown at threedifferent times during a depth scan.

At a first time (see FIG. 9 a)) the coherence gate K is in an upperlayer 34 of the observed spatial element 33 of the specimen 1 (see FIG.2 a)). Here the specimen objective 41 is a small distance away from thesecond beam splitter 24 and a relatively large distance away from thematerial layer 43 or the specimen 1. The interference structure obtainedhere is shown in the right-hand part of FIG. 9 a) and has a periodlength which corresponds to the distance between two respectiveconsecutive light or dark rings. This period length is greater than thecentre-centre distance (pitch) of the individual detector elements(pixels) of the detector 30, i.e. the spatial frequency of theinterference structure, which corresponds to the reciprocal periodlength, is smaller than the resolution of the detector 30 whichcorresponds to the reciprocal centre-centre distance of the pixels ofthe detector 30, by means of which the so-called Nyquist condition isfulfilled. In this way it is guaranteed that the interference structurecan be reliably recorded by the detector 30.

At a second time (see FIG. 9 b)) the coherence gate K is in a centrallayer 35 of the observed spatial element 33 of the specimen 1 (see FIG.2 a)). The specimen objective 41 is in a position which is slightlyfurther away from the second beam splitter 24 and somewhat closer to thematerial layer 43 than in FIG. 9 a)). In this case the interferencestructure has a greater period length than in FIG. 9 a)) so that at thistime too the Nyquist condition is fulfilled.

At a third time (see FIG. 9 c)) the coherence gate K is in the deepestlayer 36 of the observed spatial element 33 of the specimen 1 (see FIG.2 a)). The specimen objective 41 is in a position which is even furtheraway from the second beam splitter 24 and even closer to the materiallayer 43 than in FIG. 9 b). In this case the interference structure hasapproximately the same period length as at the time illustrated in FIG.9 a) so that in this depth scan position too the Nyquist condition isfulfilled.

Due to the described asymmetrical embodiment of the specimen andreference objective 41 and 46, different distances and optical paths pand r between the specimen and reference objective 41 and 46 and thesecond beam splitter 24 can be produced. In the example shown, in thisway the specimen objective 41 at distance p can be brought close to thesecond beam splitter 24, by means of which small diameters of the lenses42 with a high light yield can be produced. At the same time thereference objective 46 can be disposed a considerably greater distanceaway r (r>p) from the second beam splitter 24, by means of which foldingof the second interferometer 20 is made possible with which thereference and illumination arm 23 and 21 are respectively tilted about90° in relation to their position in a non-folded Linnik interferometer(see FIG. 8) and in this way extend parallel to the specimen arm 22.

In this way a very slim form of the measuring head is produced and atthe same time it is guaranteed that the image on the detector 30, whichis produced by the reference and specimen optics, is of equal size andwell superimposed for all scan depths.

By means of the embodiment of the reference objective 46 describedabove, part of the optical path which is required for folding iscompensated. Therefore, the reference objective 46 is optically shorterthan the specimen objective 41. In this way the embodiment of the firstinterferometer 10 is simpler because in this way the two interferometerarms of the first interferometer 10 do not have to differ from oneanother so greatly in order to fulfil the coherence condition for theoccurrence of interference.

The difference between the optical path lengths in the reference and thespecimen arm 23 and 22 is preferably at least twice as great as themaximum scan depth Tm (see FIGS. 3 a) and b)). The maximum optical scandepth Tm specifies up to which depth beneath the surface of the specimen1 the coherence condition for the occurrence of interference isfulfilled and corresponding interference patterns are obtained. In thisway a clear and simple assignment of the position of the referencemirror 12 in the first interferometer 10 at a specific depth in thespecimen 1 is guaranteed.

7. Single Mode Pre-Modulation and Multimode Fibre

With the embodiment of the first interferometer 10 preferred here in theso-called free beam optics, when using the conventionally used spatiallyshort or incoherent light sources a relatively complex objective isrequired in the region of the output 8 of the first interferometer 10 inorder to inject the outgoing light as efficiently as possible into thefirst optical fibre 17 and thus avoid light losses. In this way not onlythe optical structure of the second interferometer 20, which is to bedesigned as compactly as possible for endoscopic applications, but alsothe structure of the optics of the first interferometer 10 arerestricted. Moreover, if applicable, any required increase in the lightoutput is restricted with the conventionally used spatially short orincoherent light sources.

In order to avoid these disadvantages, in the present OCT system one ora number of single mode light sources respectively having high spatialcoherence, such as e.g. superluminescence diodes (SLEDs), short pulselasers or supercontinuum lasers, are used as a light source 15. Thelight 14 of the light source 15 is injected into the firstinterferometer 10, only the so-called Gauss mode, which corresponds to asingle mode, being transmitted. Only after passing through the firstinterferometer 10 is the spatial coherence of the injected light 14destroyed by the light at the output 8 of the first interferometer 10being injected into the first optical fibre 17 which has a very longmultimode fibre.

A multimode fibre is a fibre the numerical aperture and characteristicdiameter of which allows not just one fibre mode to be formed with aspecific wavelength of the light, but makes it possible for manydifferent fibre modes to be stimulated. Whether a fibre is a single modefibre or a multimode fibre can be estimated using the so-called V figureV:

$V = {\frac{\pi}{\lambda} \cdot d \cdot {NA}}$

λ specifying the wavelength of the light injected into the fibre, d thecharacteristic diameter of the fibre and NA the numerical aperture ofthe fibre. The wavelength λ of the light injected into the fibre ispreferably identical here to the average wavelength λ₀ of the light 14injected into the first interferometer. If the V figure is greater thanapproximately 2.4, this is a multimode fibre.

The multimode fibre preferably used in the first optical fibre 17 hastypical lengths in the order of magnitude of approximately 100 m and ispreferably predominantly wound onto a coil 19, as indicated in FIG. 1.The characteristic diameter of the multimode fibre is preferably betweenapproximately 200 μm and approximately 400 μm.

The very long, thin and preferably wound up multimode fibre canoptionally be combined in the first optical fibre 17 with a relativelyshort, thick fibre (not shown) the diameter of which comes within therange of approximately one millimetre and the length of which comeswithin the range of metres.

By means of the destruction of the spatial coherence of the light of thesingle mode light source 15, the light reflected by two different pointsin the specimen 1 is prevented from being able to interfere, and this isalso referred to as so-called coherent cross-talk.

Moreover, efficient suppression of the coherent cross-talk leads toeffective suppression of undesired scattered light which, in the case ofa light source with high spatial coherence, would also contribute tointerference, and consequently would lead to a blurred, washyimage—similar to an image behind a pane of frosted glass. In the waydescribed above efficient destruction of the spatial coherence isimplemented, by means of which the detection of scattered light isgreatly reduced and finally a sharp image is obtained.

The pre-modulation information produced in the first interferometer 10,i.e. the spectral modulation of the injected light 14 brought about bythe movement of the second reference mirror 12, is not changed, however,when the light is transmitted by means of the very long multimode fibreof the first optical fibre 17. This is guaranteed in that in themultimode fibre both arms of the first interferometer 10 produceidentical modes with identical mode distribution and identical phases.

Each mode itself then transmits the pre-modulation information, theindividual modes not being coupled with one another. This is achieved bythe first and second partial beams 2 and 3 in the first interferometer10 (see FIG. 1) being superimposed co-linearly and exactly in relationto a third partial beam 4 before they enter into the multimode fibre ofthe first optical fibre 17.

The entry of the light into the multimode fibre of the first opticalfibre 17 determines here the number and distribution of the modesstimulated in the multimode fibre. For particularly efficientdestruction of the spatial coherence it is advantageous to chose aninjection with which the largest possible number of modes arestimulated. This can be implemented in particular by—as shown in FIGS.10 a) and 10 b)—the focus 55 of the light beams, i.e. of the thirdpartial beam 4, not lying on the facet 9, i.e. the entry plane, of themultimode fibre of the first optical fibre 17 and/or by the light beamsof the third partial beam 4 being injected at an angle into themultimode fibre of the first optical fibre 17, the optical axis 56 ofthe light beams being tilted in relation to the central axis 57 of themultimode fibre of the first optical fibre 17 and enclosing an angle ω,which is preferably between 5° and 40°, with the latter. In this way onthe one hand the spatial coherence is suppressed to the maximum, and onthe other hand the illumination of the facet 9 of the multimode fibre ismore homogeneous.

Moreover, in FIGS. 10 a) and 10 b) the characteristic diameter d of themultimode fibre used in the first optical fibre 17 is drawn in.

The described combination of the injection of highly-coherent light 14into the first interferometer 10 in combination with the injection ofthe light of the third partial beam 4 subsequently spectrally modulatedin the first interferometer 10 into the first optical fibre 17 makes itpossible to form the optics very simply in the region of the output 8 ofthe first interferometer 10.

Since with this principle bright coherent light sources, such as e.g.SLEDs, short pulse lasers or supercontinuum lasers, can be used as alight source 15, it is possible to achieve considerably higher outputdensities than with the conventionally used temporally incoherent lightsources. The signal/noise ratio of the image information obtained is inthis way considerably improved.

Alternatively to the free beam interferometer illustrated and describedhere, by using this principle the first interferometer 10 can also bedesigned totally as a fibre interferometer. The depth scan could then beimplemented e.g. instead of by means of the movement of the secondreference mirror 12, by extending a fibre in one of the two arms of thefirst interferometer 10 by means of a so-called fibre stretcher.

8. Image Transfer by Means of Fibre Bundles

As already explained in greater detail, with the present OCT system adepth scan is implemented by means of a macroscopic movement of thereference mirror 12 in the first interferometer 10 while the lightreflected by the specimen 1 is forwarded to the two-dimensional detector30 via the second interferometer 20 and the second optical fibre 29 andcollected by the latter.

A fibre bundle made up of a plurality of individual fibres is used as asecond optical fibre 29. Fibre bundles generally have a high numericalaperture which is technically limited and comes within the range of 0.4or over. Furthermore, the filling factor of the facet, i.e. the inlet oroutlet cross-section, of conventional fibre bundles is relatively small.Both would lead to undesired light losses with the transmission of thelight reflected by the specimen 1 from the second interferometer 20 tothe detector 30.

In order to obtain the most compact possible OCT system with small lightand information losses when transmitting the light reflected by thespecimen 1 the fibre bundle described in greater detail in the followingis used.

FIG. 11 shows a section 50 of the facet of the fibre bundle usedwhich—as can be seen from the partial region 51 illustrated in enlargedform—is made up of a plurality of individual fibres 52 which have acentre-centre distance d2 (so-called fibre pitch).

FIG. 12 shows a section of the detector 30 used which comprises aplurality of detector elements 80 arranged in an area and which have acentre-centre distance d1 (so-called pixel pitch). With the present OCTsystem the fibre pitch d2 of the individual fibres 52 of the fibrebundle is smaller than the pixel pitch d1 of the detector elements 80 ofthe detector 30.

In order to make possible the largest possible field of vision with highspatial resolution, the fibre bundle comprises at least 100,000,preferably approximately 300,000, individual fibres 52. The number ofdetector elements 80 of the detector 30 is preferably approximately328,000 and thus comes within the same order of magnitude as the numberof individual fibres 52.

As shown in FIG. 13, the form of the cross-section of the fibre bundleof the second optical fibre 29 in the region of the inlet and outletsurface 7 and 6 is preferably adapted to the geometry of the detector30, in particular the form of the inlet surface 7 on the side of thesecond interferometer 20 being substantially equal to the form of theoutlet surface 6 on the side of the detector objective 31 and thedetector 30 (see also FIG. 1). The respective form of the inlet andoutlet surface 7 and 6, in particular the side length ratio of thelatter, is essentially identical here to the preferably rectangular formof the detector 30.

In FIG. 14 a) two individual fibres 52 of the fibre bundle are shown asan example. The individual fibres 52 have a fibre core 65 and a fibrecladding 66. With the preferably used individual fibres 52 of the fibrebundle the ratio d3/d4 of the thicknesses d3 and d4 of the respectivefibre core 65 to the fibre cladding 66 (the so-called core/claddingratio) is chosen such that the highest possible filling factor isproduced with the smallest possible light losses due to light passingout of the fibre 52 to the side (so-called evanescent waves). Thefilling factor here is given by the ratio of the whole cross-sectionalsurface of the individual fibre 52 to the surface of the fibre core 65.

With a wavelength of the light 14 of for example 1300 nm the fibrebundle used preferably has a fibre pitch d2 of 11 μm, a claddingthickness d4 of the individual fibres 52 of 1.7 μm and a core diameterd3 of 6.8 μm. The diameter of the individual fibre 52, which is producedfrom the sum of the core diameter d3 and twice the cladding thicknessd4, is in this case 10.2 μm and is therefore somewhat smaller than thefibre pitch d2 because with the production process of the fibre bundleanother second cladding (not shown) is produced around each individualfibre 52.

In FIG. 14 b) a version of the embodiment of the individual fibres 52shown in FIG. 14 a) is illustrated. In this version the individual fibrecores 65 of the individual fibres 52 are embedded into a matrix 66 madeof glass or plastic which respectively forms the fibre cladding of eachindividual fibre core 65. With this version two respective adjacentindividual fibres 52 have part of their fibre cladding in common. Thedistance d4 between adjacent fibre cores 64, which corresponds to thecladding thickness, can in this way be reduced relative to theindividual fibres described above with a respective own fibre cladding,the occurrence of evanescent waves furthermore being efficientlysuppressed. The surface ratio of the fibre core surface to the wholefibre surface is in this way particularly large. The quotient of thecore diameter d3 and the cladding thickness d4 here comes within therange between approximately 5 and 8.

The second interferometer 20 is designed such that for all scan depths alateral interference pattern is produced the spatial frequency of whichis lower than the spatial frequency of the individual fibres 52 of thefibre bundle, the Nyquist condition in particular having to befulfilled. This is illustrated in FIG. 15. As can be seen in theenlarged section 61 of the lateral interference pattern 60, the lengthof a period between two consecutive interference minima 63 (dark rings)of the interference pattern 60 is greater by a multiple than thecentre/centre distance (fibre pitch) of the individual fibres 52 of thefibre bundle the inlet surface 6 of which (see also FIG. 1) isillustrated here as a section and correspondingly enlarged.Correspondingly, the spatial frequency of the interference pattern 60 isconsiderably lower than the spatial frequency of the individual fibres52 of the fibre bundle.

With respect to systems known from the prior art wherein the detector isincorporated into the interferometer, a number of advantages areachieved by using the fibre bundle described above which will bedescribed in greater detail in the following.

The pixel pitch d1 of InGaAs CMOS detectors, which are sensitive tolight with wavelengths within the range of approximately 1300 nm, cannot be substantially smaller than 20 μm for technical reasons. The fibrebundle preferably used in the present OCT system has a fibre pitch d2 of10 μm and therefore with the same resolution has a substantially smallercross-section than the detector. This enables a considerably morecompact design of the measuring head in comparison to systems whereinthe detector is incorporated into the measuring head.

Moreover, with the aforementioned systems from the prior art, due to thevery high sampling rates required of the detector, transmission of dataat extremely high speed from the measuring head to the downstreamelectronics would be required. Moreover, A/D converters would have to beintegrated into the measuring head. These disadvantages do not apply tothe forwarding described here of the image information obtained from thespecimen 1 by means of the second optical fibre 29 in the form of afibre bundle to a detector 30 separate from the second interferometer20.

Since with the present OCT system no electronics are required,therefore, in order to record and/or process the image in the measuringhead, there is no lost heat which could lead to undesired heating of themeasuring head.

Since in the second optical fibre 29 a fibre pitch d2 (e.g. 11 μm) ispreferably chosen which is smaller than the smallest possible pixelpitch d1 (mainly larger than or equal to 20 μm) of the detector 30, anenlargement of the image obtained from the specimen 1 in the measuringhead with equal lateral resolution in comparison to systems from theprior art can be reduced, and this makes more simple and smaller opticspossible in the second interferometer 20.

In order to increase the light yield with the light and imageinformation transmission from the specimen 1 or from the third referencemirror 25 to the detector 30, adaptation of the numerical apertures ofindividual components of the present OCT systems is provided, inparticular of the apertures of the specimen objective 41 and of thelenses 47 in the output arm 27 and of the apertures of the referenceobjective 46 and of the fibre bundle of the second optical fibre 29, ofthe detector objective 31 and of the detector 30. This is described ingreater detail in the following by means of FIGS. 1, 4 and 16.

FIG. 16 shows a section of the second optical fibre 29 made up of aplurality of individual fibres 52 in the region of the inlet surface 7.A convergent light bundle 58 passing out of the second interferometer 20has an aperture angle α and strikes the optical fibre 29 at an angle ofincidence 1 in relation to the perpendicular of the inlet surface 7. Theindividual fibres 52 of the second optical fibre 27 have an apertureangle γ within which they can collect arriving light. The aperture angleγ is given by the numerical aperture of the individual fibres 52.

In order to guarantee the highest possible light yield provision ispreferably made such that the sum of the aperture angle α of the lightbundle 58 and the angle of incidence 1 is smaller than the apertureangle γ of the individual fibres 52 of the fibre bundle 29: α+β<γ. Inthis way it is guaranteed that all of the light of the light bundle 58which strikes an individual fibre 52 passes into the latter and isconveyed to the outlet surface 6 of the second optical fibre 29.

The aperture angle α and the angle of incidence β of the light bundle 58required for this are produced by a corresponding embodiment of thespecimen and/or reference and/or output objective 41, 46 and 47. This isachieved in particular by the two objective combinations of the specimenand output objective 41/47 or the reference and output objective 46/47imaging in enlarged form, i.e. the aperture angle α of the light bundle58 in the region of the inlet surface 7 of the fibre bundle (“imageside”) is smaller than the aperture angle (not shown) on the side of thespecimen 1 (“object side”). In this way a large aperture angle can beeasily produced on the side of the specimen 1 by means of which highlight collecting efficiency is achieved. Together with the loss-freeinjection of light into the fibre bundle of the second optical fibre 29,in this way overall a very high light yield is guaranteed whencollecting the light reflected by the specimen 1, and so a high imagequality is achieved.

Alternatively, or additionally, in order to increase the light yield,adaptation of the fibre bundle side numerical aperture of the detectorobjective 31 to the numerical aperture of the fibre bundle of the secondoptical fibre 29 is provided. The aperture angle of the detectorobjective 31 is greater here than the aperture angle γ of the individualfibres 52 of the fibre bundle.

Preferably, the detector objective 31 is telecentric on the side of thefibre bundle. In this way the radiation characteristics of the fibrebundle can easily be allowed for. The field angle on the output surface6 is equal to zero for every position on the output surface 6.

As the angle of incidence of the light beams onto the detector 30increases, the light output collected by the detector 30 becomessmaller. In order to guarantee the highest possible light yieldprovision is therefore made such that the angle of incidence of thelight beams onto the detector 30 is kept as small as possible. This ispreferably achieved by enlarged imaging of the fibre bundle of thesecond optical fibre 29 onto the detector 30 and a telecentric design ofthe detector objective 31 on the side of the detector 30.

A further advantage when using the described fibre bundle for imagetransmission is that the overall enlargement M of the system can besplit into two steps, namely into a first enlargement M1 in themeasuring head, i.e. in the second interferometer 20, and a secondenlargement M2 in the detector objective 31. In this way the firstenlargement M1 of the objectives 41, 46 and 47 in the measuring head canbe smaller than the overall enlargement M required for the nominalresolution of the OCT system. The following example is intended toillustrate this: With a pixel pitch of 20 μm, a fibre pitch of 10 μm anda nominal resolution of 2.5 μm, by means of the fibre bundle of thesecond optical fibre 29 formed as described above, an enlargement M1=4is produced in the measuring head and an enlargement M2=2 in thedetector objective 31 so as to obtain an overall enlargement M=M1×M2=8.Without an image transmission by means of the described fibre bundle anenlargement equal to the overall enlargement M=8 would, however, have tobe produced in the measuring head.

Therefore, the advantage of using the fibre bundle described above isthat the overall enlargement M does not only have to be provided by theobjectives of the second interferometer 20, and so the specimen and/orreference and/or output objectives 41, 46 and 47 of the measuring headcan be simpler and more space-saving in design, by means of which themeasuring head can be substantially more compact in design overall.

As in the example of a second interferometer 20 shown in FIG. 4, in thisway the average diameter D1 of the specimen objective 41 and of thelenses 47 of the output objective of the second interferometer 20 canpreferably be chosen to be smaller than the diameter D2 of the secondoptical fibre 29 in the region of the inlet surface 7: D1<D2.

9. Operating Modes of the OCT System

The OCT system described above can be operated in three differentoperating modes. The operating modes are two real time modes, whereinOCT images of a specimen are produced at a high rate of approximately 5to 10 images per second, and a static operating mode.

In the first operating mode, the real time mode 1, two-dimensional depthsections of the specimen 1 (so-called slices) are produced in real time.This is implemented in that as a detector 30 a CMOS camera is used whichallows a so-called Window of Interest (WOI) to be set with which onlyone partial surface of the detector 30 is sensitive to light andconverts the latter into corresponding detector signals. The reductionof the sensitive camera surface is associated with a considerableincrease in the camera speed; with this setting more camera images canbe produced per second than in the complete image mode.

In the real time mode 1 a WOI is preferably chosen which in onedirection corresponds to the whole camera length and width (e.g. 640pixels) and in the other direction has the minimum possible number ofpixels (e.g. 4 pixels) as given by the type of respective camera. Inthis way the speed of the camera is increased to such an extent that OCTimages can be recorded in real time.

This is preferably achieved in combination with the modulation of theintensity of the light 14 or 4 injected into the first interferometer 10and emitted by the first interferometer 10 or the modulation of thesensitivity of the detector system 30, 31 (see sections 3 and 4 above).

FIG. 17 shows a detector surface F1 which is made up of a first numberN1 of detector elements 80 and has a length c1 and a width b1. With theaforementioned setting of a WOI, light is only collected by the detectorelements 80 located in a partial surface F2 of the detector surface F1and is converted into corresponding detector signals. The second numberN2 of detector elements 80 of the partial surface F2 is smaller than thefirst number N1 of detector elements 80 of the whole detector surfaceF1. The lengths c1 and c2 of the detector surface F1 and partial surfaceF2 are of equal size, whereas the widths b1 and b2 of the detectorsurface F1 and partial surface F2 are different.

In the example shown the partial surface F2 is only four pixels wide,whereas the detector surface F1 is 512 pixels wide. The sensitivesurface of the detector surface F1 is therefore reduced by a factor of128, and this considerably reduces the period of time required for therecording of interference patterns and conversion of the latter intocorresponding detector signals.

As shown in FIG. 18, in this example, instead of a completethree-dimensional tomogram, only four (corresponding to the four rows ofpixels of the partial surface F2) two-dimensional depth sections 67 areobtained from the observed spatial element 33 of the specimen 1.

In the second operating mode, the real time mode 2, —as shown in FIG.19—two-dimensional tomograms 68 are produced from a specific depth T ofthe observed spatial element 33 of the specimen 1, it being possible tochoose any depth T. Here the whole detector surface F1 of the detector30 is used for collecting the light reflected by the specimen 1 and theconversion of the latter into corresponding detector signals, only amaximum of five camera images, however, respectively being used tocalculate a tomogram 68. For this purpose the first reference mirror 11is periodically moved within the first interferometer 10 with anamplitude of approximately 1 μm, whereas up to five camera images arerecorded which are then allocated to one OCT image. In this waytomograms 68 with a high repetition rate can be produced.

By means of a macroscopic movement of the second reference mirror 12,optionally in combination with the focus tracking (see section 1 and 2above), any depth T from which the tomogram 68 is obtained can bechosen.

In the third operating mode, the static mode, a completethree-dimensional set of data is recorded with the aid of themacroscopic movement of the second reference mirror 12 in combinationwith the focus tracking. Details with regard to this can be taken inparticular from sections 1 and 2.

By means of the different operating modes the OCT system can fulfil awhole range of different requirements. The functionalities whenexamining specimens, for example when locating relevant points in thespecimen, are thus considerably extended.

10. Further Inventive Aspects of the System and Method for OCT

The system and method for OCT described in greater detail above hasindividual features or combinations of features by means of which thesystem and method are made simpler and more compact in design andquicker and more reliable when handling and image recording without allof the features listed in the preamble and/or characterising part of theindependent claims being required. These features and combinations offeatures are also considered to be the invention.

The invention is considered in particular to be a system for opticalcoherence tomography with

-   -   at least one interferometer for emitting light with which a        specimen is irradiated, and    -   a detector for collecting light which is reflected by the        specimen,        the system being characterised by one or a number of features        which have been described in greater detail above, in particular        in sections 1 to 9 and/or in connection with FIGS. 1 to 19.

The method corresponding to this system is also considered to be theinvention.

Irradiation of the specimen with light emitted by the interferometertakes place either indirectly, i.e. by means of a further interferometerwhich is located between the interferometer and the specimen, ordirectly, i.e. without a further interferometer located between theinterferometer and the specimen.

The collection by the detector of the light reflected by the specimentakes place either indirectly, i.e. by means of a further interferometerwhich is located between the specimen and the detector, or directly,i.e. without a further interferometer located between the detector andthe specimen.

1. A system for optical coherence tomography comprising: aninterferometer for emitting light with which a specimen is irradiated,the interferometer comprising a beam splitter and at least one reflectorthe optical distance of which from the beam splitter can be changed byan optical path, and a detector with a first number of detector elementsarranged in a first area for collecting light which is reflected by thespecimen, wherein the system can be operated in a first mode in whichlight reflected by the specimen is only collected by a second number ofdetector elements of the detector and converted into correspondingdetector signals, the second number of detector elements being smallerthan the first number of detector elements.
 2. The system according toclaim 1, the second number of detector elements being maximum a quarterof the first number of detector elements.
 3. The system according toclaim 1, the second number of detector elements being arranged in asecond area which forms a coherent partial area of the first area. 4.The system according to claim 3, the first area having a first width anda first length and the second area having a second width and a secondlength, the first and the second length being substantially identicaland the second width being smaller than the first width.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1, the optical distance between the reflector and thebeam splitter being changeable by an optical path which is substantiallygreater than the average wavelength of light injected into theinterferometer.
 6. The system according to claim 5, during the change ofthe optical distance between the reflector and the beam splitter by theoptical path the light reflected by the specimen only being collected anumber of times by the second number of detector elements of thedetector, by means of which a number of two-dimensional depth sectionsare obtained by a spatial element of the specimen.
 7. The systemaccording to claim 5, the interferometer comprising a further reflectorthe optical distance of which from the beam splitter can be changed by afurther optical path which is maximum ten times the average wavelengthof the light injected into the interferometer and the system can beoperated in a second mode in which during the change of the opticaldistance between the further reflector and the beam splitter the lightreflected by the specimen is collected by the detector elements of thedetector a number of times, in particular maximum five times, by meansof which a two-dimensional section through a spatial element of thespecimen is obtained at a depth of the specimen pre-specified by theoptical distance between the reflector and the beam splitter.
 8. Thesystem according to claim 5, wherein the system has a third mode inwhich during the change of the optical distance between the reflectorand the beam splitter by the optical path the light reflected by thespecimen is collected by the detector elements of the detector a numberof times, by means of which the light reflected by a number oftwo-dimensional sections is collected at different depths of thespecimen.
 9. The system according to claim 8 having a specimen objectiveby means of which light emitted by the interferometer is focussed into afocus lying on or in the specimen, during the change of the opticaldistance between the reflector and the beam splitter the lightrespectively reflected at a number of different depths of the specimenbeing collected by the detector and at the same time the imagingproperties of the specimen objective being controlled so that the focuscomes within the range of the respective depth of the specimen.
 10. Thesystem according to claim 1, the intensity of light which is injectedinto the interferometer or emitted by the interferometer being modulatedwith a modulation frequency.
 11. The system according to claim 9, adetector system being provided which comprises the detector, thesensitivity of the detector system for the light reflected by thespecimen and impinging on the detector being modulated with a modulationfrequency.
 12. The system according to claim 10, the modulationfrequency not being equal to the Doppler frequency, the Dopplerfrequency being given by twice the ratio of the speed of the change ofthe optical distance between the reflector or the further reflector andthe beam splitter by the optical path or the further optical path to themean wavelength of the light injected into the interferometer.
 13. Amethod for optical coherence tomography comprising: light is emitted byan interferometer with which a specimen is irradiated, theinterferometer comprising a beam splitter and at least one reflector theoptical distance of which from the beam splitter is changeable, andlight reflected by the specimen is collected by a detector whichcomprises a first number of detector elements arranged in a first area,wherein in a first mode, light reflected of the specimen is onlycollected by a second number of detector elements of the detector andconverted into corresponding detector signals, the second number ofdetector elements being smaller than the first number of detectorelements.
 14. The method according to claim 13, the second number ofdetector elements being at least a quarter of the first number ofdetector elements.
 15. The method according to claim 13, the secondnumber of detector elements being arranged in a second area which formsa coherent partial area of the first area.
 16. The method according toclaim 15, the first area having a first width and a first length and thesecond area having a second width and a second length, the first and thesecond length and being substantially identical and the second widthbeing smaller than the first width.
 17. The method according to claim16, the optical distance between the reflector and the beam splitterbeing changed by an optical path which is substantially larger than theaverage wavelength of light injected into the interferometer.
 18. Themethod according to claim 17, during the change of the optical distancebetween the reflector and the beam splitter by the optical path thelight reflected by the specimen only being collected a number of timesby the second number of detector elements of the detector, by means ofwhich a number of two-dimensional depth sections are obtained by aspatial element of the specimen.
 19. The method according to claim 17,in a second mode, the optical distance between a further reflector andthe beam splitter being changed by a further optical path which ismaximum ten times the average wavelength of the light injected into theinterferometer, and during the change of the optical distance betweenthe further reflector and the beam splitter the light reflected by thespecimen being collected by the detector elements of the detector anumber of times, in particular maximum five times, by means of which atwo-dimensional section is obtained by a spatial element of the specimenat a depth of the specimen pre-specified by the optical distance betweenthe reflector and the beam splitter.
 20. The method according to claim17, in a third mode during the change of the optical distance betweenthe reflector and the beam splitter by the optical path the lightreflected by the specimen being collected a number of times by thedetector elements of the detector, by means of which the light reflectedby a number of two-dimensional sections at different depths of thespecimen is collected.
 21. The method according to claim 20, during thechange of the optical distance between the reflector and the beamsplitter the light respectively reflected at a number of differentdepths of the specimen being collected by the detector, and at the sametime the imaging properties of a specimen objective, by means of whichlight emitted by the interferometer is focussed into a focus lying on orin the specimen being controlled such that the focus comes within therange of the respective depth of the specimen.
 22. The method accordingto claim 21, the intensity of light which is injected into theinterferometer or emitted by the interferometer being modulated with amodulation frequency.
 23. The method according to claim 21, a detectorsystem being provided which comprises the detector, the sensitivity ofthe detector system to the light reflected by the specimen and impingingon the detector being modulated with a modulation frequency.
 24. Themethod according to claim 23, the modulation frequency not being equalto the Doppler frequency, the Doppler frequency being given by twice theratio of the speed of the change of the optical distance between thereflector or the further reflector and the beam splitter by the opticalpath or the further optical path to the average wavelength of the lightinjected into the interferometer.